Rome is full of ruins from its ancient past. Come explore them with me.
Roma. The Eternal City. The city that belongs to my heart. Just the name of the city conjures up images of St. Peter’s Basilica, ancient ruins, and gelato. Maybe that last one is just me. Rome is truly one of those cities that just draws people into its splendor. I fell in love with Rome before I ever set foot within its city walls. I have visited the city four times now, about three and a half weeks in total. I still have not seen everything Rome has to offer. I feel like I have only grazed the surface.
My favorite city ever.
You probably already know that I like to wander. My blog name kind of gives it away. I feel like it is time to share my favorite place on earth with you all. One post cannot do Rome justice, so I’m breaking it up into 5 parts: the ancient city, the streets, the churches, the museums and finally Vatican City. (Technically, Vatican City is a different country and not in the city of Rome, but close enough.)
Come explore the ruins of Ancient Rome with me.
Wandering the Ancient City
Rome has been around for 28 centuries. That’s about 2,800 years. So much history has occurred in that time and it’s hard to summarize that much time. In short, Rome was founded, according to legend, on April 21, 753 BCE by brothers Romulus and Remus.
The Capitoline Wolf at the Capitoline Museums. The wolf itself dates to Ancient Rome, but Romulus and Remus came much later.
The city was first ruled by some sort of monarchy, later becoming a republic in 509 BCE. Rome slowly grew out from the seven hills to the outlying countryside and later the entire Mediterranean Sea area. The Roman Empire was founded in 27 BCE by Augustus and that lasted until August 22, 476 CE when the empire finally fell (technically just the Western Empire, the Eastern Empire continued until the 15th century under the Byzantines). However, Rome survived, as a city, a backwater really. Rome only survived because it was the seat of one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful, man in Christendom, the Pope.
So that was a long story short, enough backstory for this post. Don’t want to bore you with the details of Roman expansionism.
The best place to really start the tour of Ancient Rome would be the Ancient Forum, the seat of government.
This is the Roman Forum as seen from the Palatine Hill (more about that later). This was once the seat of government of Rome, both during the Republic and the Empire. The Forum grew piecemeal, a bit at a time. Parts were destroyed early on and then replaced, although some buildings survived from the earliest days of the Republic.
More of the Forum looking the other direction toward the Colosseum and the Arch of Titus.
The Temple of Romulus was thought to have been dedicated to Valerius Romulus (not the founder of Rome), the son of Maxentius. It was built in the 4th century CE. It is now part of the basilica of Santi Cosma e Damiano which incorporates original Roman buildings, including what may have been a Forum library. I have not been in the main church, but I have been in the temple which is now used as a small exhibition space. It contains early Christian frescoes which are pretty neat.
The remaining part of the absolutely huge Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine. It was built between 308-312 CE. Basilicas in Ancient Rome served a variety of functions, such as courthouse, council chamber and meeting halls. Christian churches often copied the design, especially churches in Southern and Central Italy. It was destroyed by two earthquakes in 847 and 1349.
The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina was converted into a church (San Lorenzo in Miranda). The temple was dedicated in 141 CE by Emperor Antoninus Pius to his late wife, Faustina. It was converted into a church as early as the 7th century, which is why much the temple still survives. However, later additions to the church radically changed its appearance.
Now we will head down into the Forum. The Arch of Titus was built to honor Titus’ victories, including the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE. You can find the arch familiar because it was often copied for other triumphal arches built across the world, like the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
Close up of the Arch of Titus. This relief shows the spoils from the Siege of Jerusalem. Note the Menorah.
You can see the remains of two forum temples, the Temple of Vesta (which housed the famous Vestal Virgins) and the Temple of Castor and Pollux (the twin sons of Zeus and Leda, or the twins of Gemini).
The Curia Julia, the Senate House of Rome. It was built in 44 BCE during Julius Caesar’s day (hence the name). Only the main building survives, mostly because it was converted into a church in the 7th century. The roof and upper walls had to be replaced in the 1930s, however, when the former church was resorted back to its ancient appearance. The holes in the front of the building are where a portico was once attached.
This is one of the few pictures I have included from my first visit in June 2009. I love this picture. On the left, you see the Arch of Septimus Severus, the church of Santi Luca e Martina in the center and the Column of Phocas on the right.
Moving out of the main section of the Ancient Forum is the Arch of Constantine, built in 312 CE. This arch is a hodgepodge of pieces from other monuments and new pieces.
Located right next to the Arch of Constantine are what I lovingly refer to as “Roman Death Stones”. While they may have been smooth to walk on in ancient times, they are now threats to your ankles.
Located next to the Arch of Constantine is the famous Colosseum. The sun is always in the wrong place when I visit.
The interior of the Colosseum is very sparse because it was raided for stone for centuries. There is also a bunch of earthquake damage. Still fun to explore since they just opened up more levels, which is awesome.
Near the Colosseum and overlooking the Ancient Forum is the Palatine Hill, one of the famous Seven Hills of Rome. Rome was founded here (there has been someone living here since the 10th century BCE). During the Roman Republic and Imperial times, this was the hill for the rich and infamous. Senators and Caesars lived here. You can still roam around and explore the ruins up here. This is the ruins of the Palatine Stadium, one of the more intact areas you can visit.
The Imperial Forum is not the only forum in town. Nearby you can find the Forum of Augustus was built in 41 BCE, hosting a temple dedicated to Mars the Avenger, outlines of which can still be seen.
Parts of the Forum of Augustus were incorporated into nearby buildings. The medieval Romans liked to reuse things, like ancient walls and columns.
There was also the Forum Boarium near the Tiber River, which was the cattle market. Here the first gladiators fought in 264 BCE. Today you can find two of the best-preserved temples in town here, and also the oldest. This is the Temple of Hercules Victor built all the way back in the 2nd century BCE. It was saved, yet again, by becoming a church in the 12th century.
The Temple of Portunus is one of the best preserved of all Roman temples in the world. It was originally built in the 3rd or 4th century BCE and rebuilt in 120-80 BCE. It was also converted into a church in the 9th century.
The Largo di Torre Argentina was a square in Rome with four Republican temples. The round temple (pictured here) was built in 101 BCE and was dedicated to “the Fortune of This Day.” The goddess of Fortune was a big deal in Roman times.
Located near the Imperial Forum is the Forum of Trajan and its famous column, which celebrated Trajan’s victory in the Dacian Wars.
Located on the other side of the ancient city was the knockoff, Column of Marcus Aurelius, completed in 193 to celebrate his victories.
Later Romans really liked to reuse ancient buildings or incorporate them into new buildings, like the Temple of Hadrian. It was built in 145 CE and incorporated into a 17th century papal palace.
Another reused building is the Theater of Marcellus. It was built between 17-12 BCE as an open-air theater that could have held between 11,000 and 20,000 spectators. The theater fell out of use in the 4th century and later used as a quarry for a bridge over the Tiber, the Pons Cestius. Later it housed small residential buildings, used as a fortress in the Early Middle Ages and then in the 16th century, used in the construction of a palatial residence.
One of Rome’s most famous ancient buildings is of course the Pantheon. This former Roman temple was finished around 126 CE. It was also turned into a church and continues to be one today. The interior has been greatly modified. Not much of the Ancient Roman interior remains, except for the ceiling.
Two colossal tombs remain from Ancient Rome. It doesn’t look like much now, but it was a splendid tomb built for Emperor Augustus. It has had many uses since ancient times. It was a city park, a castle, circus and a concert hall. It was restored to its ancient appearance in the 1930s. It is currently undergoing restoration and is set to open to the public in 2019, the first time since the 1970s.
Speaking of tombs turned into castles, this is the Castel Sant’Angelo, formerly known as the Mausoleum of Hadrian. Originally constructed between 134 and 139 CE, it was used as a mausoleum for more than just Hadrian, other family members were also interred here. It was turned into a military fortress in 401 and remained as such until 1901 when it was turned into a museum (the interior to be featured in another post).
One of the favorite ruins are the Baths of Caracalla, the ancient city’s second largest bath complex completed in 217 CE. (I love these ruins so much, I even wrote an entire post about them.)
Not all ruins in Rome are Roman. You can find Egyptian Obelisks all over the city. This was was from the Egyptian city of Heliopolis brought to Rome in 10 BCE and set up in the Circus Maximus. In 1589, it was moved across town to the Piazza del Popolo, where it currently stands.
There are many more ruins not talked about here. It is hard to summarize Ancient Rome is 31 pictures. More will come when I explore Rome’s museums, but first I must explore Rome’s winding streets.
Explore the Streets of Rome in the next post in the Wandering Rome series.
This post is making me really miss Rome.